


Distance

by puggs_89



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: And only like the first eight seconds, Based on Promo for 3x03, Episode Related, F/M, Only on the Promo, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:00:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28821873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puggs_89/pseuds/puggs_89
Summary: Based only on the promo for season 3, episode 3 “La Fiera”.Lucy wins the shooting competition, removing Tim from the throne he has held for eight years, Tim is bothered. He is more critical of Lucy than usual and she quickly grows sick of it. Could this be the end of them working together?
Relationships: Lucy Chen & Jackson West, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 72





	Distance

They all stood in the briefing room, waiting to hear the results. Tim leaned back against a wall, entirely confident and relaxed. Tim had won the shooting competition for the past 8 years. Everyone else milled about, discussing what place they thought they got, but no one even suggested that they had won. They knew they hadn’t.

“Everyone, I have the results.” Grey said, walking into the room. Everyone sat and Grey started to read off the names from lowest to highest. He was clearly nearing the end and Tim smiled, already mentally celebrating. “West, Harper, Bradford. And finally,” 

Wait, what? Tim’s name had come after the “and finally” for eight years. Had someone actually beaten him? Tim’s smile disappeared and the quiet conversations that had been going on stopped. Everyone was intrigued by the sudden change. “Our Mid-Wilshire shooting champ for this year – Lucy Chen.”

The air was still for a moment, then everyone reacted. Lucy stared at Grey. Nolan clapped Lucy on the back. Jackson gave her a small hug. Tim stared at his rookie, keeping his emotions from his face. Most cops cheered for Lucy, but those cheers quickly turned to laughter. They all knew just how Tim would feel about this. Harper laughed the hardest, almost falling out of her chair. Tim sat, arms folded, stoic.

Tim and Lucy cruised the streets of LA looking for crime in silence, Tim hadn’t said one word to her since the results were read. But Lucy didn’t really care. She was high on the excitement of winning. 

“Mid-Wilshire shooting champ!” She cheered for herself. Tim spared her an annoyed look. “Don’t be salty just because you got second place.” She teased

“No one likes a show-off.” Tim said angrily. “In fact, you should be thanking me for training you so well.” Lucy felt a little stung. She brushed it off with a laugh.

“Wow.” A car swerved across the road in front of them. Tim quickly pulled them over and went up to the driver's window. 

“License and registration.” Tim said. The man in the car shifted uncomfortably.

“Uh, do I have to give it to you?” The man said.

“Yes.” Tim answered firmly. “License and registration. Or I can just arrest you.” Tim said, staring the man down. The man grabbed his door handle and slammed the door into Tim, knocking him down. Then he ran off. Lucy was stunned for a bit, then took off after the suspect. She chased him down the street and then between two houses, through six yards, gaining on him with every step. She was just about to have him when their shop appeared out of nowhere and the guy slammed into it. Tim got out and handcuffed the suspect. “Wow, Boot, you’re slow today.” Tim said.

“What?”

“You should have had him two blocks ago. And you needed my help. Let me ask you, what if he had knocked me out and I hadn’t been able to help you?” Tim demanded angrily.

“Wh- I almost-” Lucy stumbled.

“Almost. But you didn’t. And while you were lollygagging behind him he had all the time in the world to ditch evidence or take a hostage and then we would have a much bigger problem on our hands.” Lucy stared at him, speechless.

“I-”

“Maybe if you focused more on actual police work and less on stupid competitions and meaningless awards, you would have been able to catch him.”

“Yes sir.” Lucy said dumbly. She felt like it was day one again. Why was Tim on her so much? Where had their closeness gone? Just yesterday they were joking with each other like, well, like friends. Perhaps she had misjudged their relationship a little, but there was no way that she was this off. Tim was acting strange. Tim read the suspect his rights and put him in the shop while Lucy got in.

Nolan and West stood with her by the food truck, waiting for their orders. “Then he says I only did so well because he trained me.”

“And?” West asked.

“And that’s a little…” She shrugged. “sexist.” Both of her friends looked at her. “Just because he’s taking credit for something I did. I mean, I know Tim trained me, but I also learned a lot at the academy. And I have kind of a natural talent.” Lucy added.

“He’s just jealous. Lopez told me he held that record for eight years. And he had been in the top three for four years before that. Literally every time he’s competed, he’s ended up in the top three.” West reasoned.

“He’s still in the top three. He’s second!” Lucy said. Nolan shrugged.

“He’s probably just embarrassed. Everyone knows what that record meant to him. Now he’s lost it. It’s not personal.” Nolan gave her his best reassuring smile. Lucy sighed.

“And then he totally reamed me out."

“Yeah? Tim is always on your ass.” West said, taking a sip of his drink.

“But not like- just forget it.” They didn’t understand her and Tim. Yes, he was always critical, always correcting her, but it normally came from a different place. A place of worry and education. Now he was just being cruel.

“Boot, let’s hit it.” Tim called. Lucy grabbed her sub and trailed after him.

“What if someone shot at us?” Tim asked suddenly as they patrolled the streets in their shop.

“What?” Lucy asked, quickly swallowing the bite of sandwich she had just taken. 

“What if someone shot at us right now?” Tim asked again.

“Uh, we’d duck.” She said dumbly. He gave her an exasperated look.

“We would have to stop the car, get out and behind our reinforced doors and return fire.” Lucy knew that. She mentally cursed herself.

“Sorry, I was just distracted.”

“Exactly. If we had an emergency right now, you wouldn’t be able to do anything. Instead of getting out and returning fire, or doing whatever else the situation demanded, you would be busy shoveling what I can only assume is a tuna and garlic sub into your mouth.” Tim said coldly. Lucy wrapped her sub up and slid it out of the way.

“It’s standard practice to eat in the shop.”

“It is not ‘standard practice’. Do you know what it says in the department rule book?” He demanded.

“Uh, no.” She said, with a small laugh. The department rule book was more guidelines than actual rules. No one knew bothered to really read it. He gave her an even angrier look.

“It says absolutely no eating while on duty. That’s why you’re given an hour for lunch.”

“Tim, come on, we both know that’s not long enough. By the time we get back to the station and finish booking everyone, I barely have enough time to eat. Not to mention the lines at the food trucks are always super long. Everyone eats in their shop.” Tim pulled over to the side of the road, stopped the car and looked at her.

“First of all,” he said furiously. “I am your superior officer. You will address me as Officer Bradford or sir. Absolutely never refer to me by my first name. Second, you have an hour. Period. You need to maximize your time and move quickly. Perhaps if you stopped gabbing with your friends, you wouldn’t have to make up for lost time by breaking specific department rules and making a mess of our shop. Third and finally, I don’t care what everyone else does. I wouldn’t have thought the ‘Mid-Wilshire shooting champ” He said, mocking her tone from earlier. “would be okay with being average.” He gave her a glare to drive the point home, and then started driving again.

The rest of their day was quiet. She wanted to be annoyed with Tim, but he wasn’t wrong. And perhaps Nolan was right. Perhaps this was just him. Just more Tim tests that she was failing. She took a deep breath. She just had to not let it get to her.

Until she was arresting a man. She was putting him in the shop when Tim shouted. “Boot!” Lucy looked up.

“What?” She held the man’s head so he wouldn’t hit it on the car and he slid in.

“Are you planning on reading him his rights?”

“I was just about to.” She defended.

“Just about to? Do you know that people can walk if we don’t read them their rights?”

“Yes, that’s why-”

“Do you want him to get off scot-free?”

“No, I jus-” She took a deep breath. “I was about to-”

“I was about to’?” Tim demanded. “I am sick of hearing you say that. How about you stop being ‘about to’ and just do it.” Tim suggested. “You are supposed to read people their rights as you arrest them. That man is already arrested. If he gets a good enough lawyer, he could go free.” He said. Lucy nodded.

“Understood, sir. It won’t happen again.”

She was in the locker room, nodding to people as they congratulated her on her winning the competition. She looked up at the small plaque she had hung in her locker for now, and she made a decision. She quickly changed into her civvies and went to find him. He was exiting the building.

“Officer Bradford.” She called. He turned around and waited for her, already looking annoyed. “Officer Bradford.” She said again when she walked up to him. “I understand that you are my training officer and that you have a harsh, but effective way of training that you like to use. However, I felt attacked today. I am going to put a request in tomorrow to get a new TO. I hope you understand, and I want to thank you for all the lessons you have already taught me.” She brushed past him and left.

She sipped her rosé. She was recounting her day to Jackson back at their apartment. “You are kidding me.” West laughed. Lucy gave him a shy smile. “What did he say?”

“Well, nothing.”

“You-” Jackson chuckled. “you silenced Tim Bradford?” He asked excitedly.

“I didn’t mean to. I just couldn’t take it anymore.” Lucy sighed. Jackson gave her a sympathetic look, still trying not to laugh.

“I’m sorry, Luce. I know you liked having him as a TO.” Jackson said. Lucy flashed him a smile.

“It’s fine. I just have to fill out the form tomorrow and see who I get.” She shrugged.

“Cheer up. It’s not like you could do much worse than Tim.” He patted her on the shoulder and then went to bed.

Tim stood outside the locker room the next morning. She almost slammed right into him. “Officer Chen.” He said. She glanced down at the floor.

“Uh, Ti- Officer Bradford.” She greeted him.

“Come with me.” She briefly considered calling for back up or something. Tim didn’t usually scare her, but this she was not expecting. She followed reluctantly. He walked into the utility room and shut the door behind them. She took a deep breath. The small room filled with the smell of his cologne. He smelled good. She tried to ignore it. “Don’t ask for a new TO.” He said quietly. She was surprised.

“Officer Bradford, I have a right to-”

“Stop calling me Officer Bradford.” Tim said suddenly, shaking his head. “Look, I am… sorry for yesterday. Just don’t change TOs.” He said earnestly.

“Tim,” she said cautiously. “I just don’t want to be-”

“Lucy.” He said, putting his hands on her shoulders. Then he immediately removed them “I said I was sorry. It won’t happen again. Although, nothing of what I said was wrong-”

“Okay, what’s up with that?” Lucy demanded.

“What?”

“You know as well as I do that every single thing you called me on yesterday was crap. I chased that guy, running at a full sprint and I did almost have him. And I was going to read that other guy his rights. He won’t go free because I did everything right. Yes, I could have done that earlier,” She said when she saw he was about to say something. “but it was still in time and was perfectly in line with the law. And you also know that an hour isn’t long enough for lunch. That’s why you usually give me extra time or let me eat in the shop. Last week, we camped out next to a stop sign and ate lunch together.” She pointed out. She sighed. “I’m just asking for a little respect here.”

“You can have respect when you earn respect.” He answered curtly

“I’m willing to bet a different TO would say I’ve earned some respect.” She said. For whatever reason, he seemed terrified of her switching TOs and she was more than willing to use that to her advantage.

“Fine. You can have some respect.” Tim acquiesced. He made to leave.

“Tim, I just… why were you being mean?”

“Chen, I am supposed to train you. You made several mistakes yesterday.”

"I want to know the reason you're being so critical. Not more excuses.” Tim made for the door again and Lucy slid in his way, keeping him in place.

“I don’t have to give you a reason. And I will not be trapped in here by you.” He said sternly. Chen could feel the wall going back up between them. She was sick of it.

“This was your idea. And I’m not holding you hostage. I’m giving you a choice. You can either tell me what was wrong with you yesterday or I can get a new TO.”

“You’re giving me an ultimatum?” She shrugged. He looked at her, then at the door. He took a deep breath and for a second, she thought he was going to leave. She held her breath. She didn’t honestly know if she could bear to change TOs now. She hoped he wouldn’t call her bluff. He looked her right in the eyes, took an awkward step back, stared at the floor, and took another deep breath.

“Your training is coming to an end. You have less than 30 days left. And after you’re done training…” He looked up from the floor.

Suddenly, the already small room felt a lot smaller. Her brain went into overdrive, trying to process everything. He was being mean to her. Just like after his seizure when he blew up a baby powder IED in her face just to try to drive some distance between them.

And there it was. He was trying to distance them from each other. He was scared. She supposed she should have known. As to what he was scared of, she decided to leave that for another time.  
Tim took a small step forward and then another. He leaned in a little but stopped himself. She could feel his breath on her face, on her mouth. They locked eyes. “I don’t want to give you a reputation.” He said quietly. She stared at him, feeling his closeness, his heat. Her Tim. She gave him a brief smile and backed up a little. “I don’t want another TO.” She said. Then she opened the door.

Lopez was walking by. She stopped as soon as she saw them, looking them both over. She smiled to herself, shook her head, and then walked on. 

Less than 30 days…

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching the promo for 3x03 and Tim just seemed kind of shitty about Lucy winning the shooting competition. So I took that idea and ran with it.  
> Also, this is obviously only about the first like ten seconds of the promo. I didn’t really feel like I had anything good or productive to say about the rest of the promo, so I kind of ignored it.  
> This is obviously not how the episode will go, but wouldn’t it be nice if it did?  
> : )
> 
> Also also this is my very first fanfic. I tried to make sure this wasn’t OOC.


End file.
